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Note: I modified this, so there's a possibility for Scar to interact with her or something. Kiruhu needs to talk with people and I'd really like her to become familiar with the other characters. :3---

Kiruhu glared darkly at Valen as he and his sister conversed. It had stung considerably when he had ignored her request, and her, and simply swept past her to have his own bit of fun with the sacrificial “king” Teferi. Yes, it made memories stir and blood boil. His careless brush-off of her, as much as she hated to admit, reminded Kiruhu greatly of her father’s way of dealing with her. Of course, Valen was a great deal more gracious than her father, but only because he didn’t leave her to his guards. Still, Valen’s inconsideration left Kiruhu feeling rather sour and ill-tempered. A dark growl rumbled in her throat as she stalked out of the cavern, her eyes seeing the old one called Scar, but avoiding him, finding her solitude just three yards away from him.

It was a rare occasion, indeed, for Kiruhu didn't often fall into such foul moods. It, generally, took a great deal of effort for things to bother her. But here she was, annoyed and irate, seeking seclusion to recede her temper. How it aggrevated her! It felt like it had been ages—for it had, really, been quite some time—since her blood had boiled like it did tonight in a long time. The last time she remembered feeling this way was when Gernarsh was still alive, and that was two years ago... Kiruhu sighed and looked heavenwards. It's really only been two years, hasn't it? the lioness thought to herself, watching the stars shimmer and flicker, a nearly nostalgic look in her dark eyes.

Although it seemed so distant, it was really not that long ago; but it surely amazed her, for her old life felt almost intangible like a dream, or rather a nightmare. But it really didn't matter much now, she supposed. The past was in the past, and Kiruhu hoped that’s where it would stay. She was tired of pondering and brooding over her old life—she wanted to move on, push forward, and leave her past—far and distant—behind. Yes, that's what she wished to do now...

Although her temper had cooled, considerably and quickly, Kiruhu remained where she was. Her eyes focused on the shimmering skies above. It had been quite some time since she last looked at the stars, too.

H'Baura remained seated long after Ayele had spoken and possibly left. She hadn't paid much attention to him. She didn't really care about him at that point - her twisted mind was focused on one thing, and one thing alone. Her eyes unfocused on the wall opposite her and a reddish tint began to seep in at the corners, spoiling her vision to the point where all she saw was black and grey accented with a tint so close to a deep blood red hue, filling in the dark corners with...

Blood...

The faintest change in her facial expression caused both guards by the steps to flinch. Wordlessly, the queen stepped down from the raised platform and stalked slowly outside. Her vision was still blurry, save for one thing which stood out shockingly clear to the leopardess. It wasn't Ayele, or Tomai's retreating form, or Asikari - it was a bush with the faintest hints of red on the leaves. She stalked slowly down the steps, humming quietly to herself as she moved - ironically, a song River himself had taught her. As she passed through the bush, her voice dripped out like vemon from a snake's fang as she noticed his eyes beginning to open.

"I'm going to stop the river."

His eyes met hers for a brief second, but no look of terror came over his features as she had hoped. The male looked disappointingly at peace, and H'Baura sneered down at him. He continued to simply stare at her, and his eyes didn't leave hers even as her jaws closed around his neck and H'Baura had long turned her attention elsewhere. And to H'Baura's disappointment, River didn't fight much - all he had was the natural reactions of the body to free itself, but he didn't put much effort behind it - he simply let himself go in her jaws.

H'Baura dropped his neck with a sneer when his breathing had stopped and walked out of the bush, not bothering to clean herself off. She strode, bloody and angry, up the steps to her temple and sat at the top of it, looking out over her kingdom and licking her jaws thoughtfully. Now that he was out of the way...

There was a long silence between the two, both trying to stare each other down. However, none showed so much as a twitch of the brow.

"I'll only ask you once again," Sengalo said in a low tone, "will you help her?" His patience with this lion was wearing thin. Even if Sengalo was in no condition to fight, his naturally violent persona ordered him otherwise. His slender muzzle twisted greatly into a grimace, Sengalo gave a warning growl from pursed lips. His already small pupils began to contract more, his anger rising.

For a fleeting moment, Sengalo thought he saw a pang of sympathy in the other lion's eyes, but it was quickly dashed away. "No," he heard Loki say flatly, "it'll be the first rule that you'll have to learn out here: only the strongest survive."

"Don't lecture me with such trifling advice," Sengalo snapped, the raising of his voice hurting his throat. "I know what it's like," he continued with only a slightly calmer tone, "she, however..." He regarded a quick nod back to Siera. "Has lived a more privileged life," he finished, his voice close to a serpent's hiss.

Sengalo could hear the growl that came from Loki rise. "Then it'll just have to end," the red lion bellowed as he began to advance forward, "privileged or not, you're not welcome here!"

"Dammit," Sengalo cursed in such a soft voice; it was more like he mouthed it than said it. As the white maned lion charged, Sengalo braced himself by letting his sore legs become like weights beneath him. He should've chosen his words more wisely. Now, he was paying the price.

Sengalo suddenly felt a heavy paw slap hard at his left cheek. In such a frail state, he easily collapsed to the ground. Another blow was dealt, then another, and another. Black lips parted as Sengalo groaned out in both agony and anger, angry with both this opponent and that he couldn't muster up the energy to fight back. He was useless.

Then, just like that, the beating subsided. Had he died? No, the pain was still there. One lime green eye cracked open after the other, vision incredibly blurred. Sengalo huffed heavily, causing dust clouds to form around his muzzle. He was bruised in several places, nicks from claws here and there in his skin. Weary eyes stared with a hazy veil to just barely make out the form of Loki stalking toward a fair form lying not to far from himself.

"Siera..." Sengalo rasped, eyes growing wide, even though he was unable to see clearly. She was next. He was going to fail at keeping her safe. In her comatose state, this other lion would dispose of her in seconds. "No..." Sengalo muttered. No, he couldn't let that happen.

"Leave her out of this," he moaned, rolling to have his paws under him. Quaking furiously, Sengalo stood to his feet. "Leave her alone," he repeated, stumbling terribly as he tried to endure his own weight.

Loki only paused shortly to glance back at Sengalo out of the corner of his eye. He only gave a growl before turning back to close the gap between he and the fallen Siera.

Sengalo's words were futile to help her. No, he couldn't let this happen. He wouldn't. Sengalo's pain was becoming ignored, being replaced with a different sensation. It was building up inside him with each passing breath. It was all too familiar to him, but that didn't mean he could control it.

It was rage. [i]The[/i] rage.

The dark lion's head lowered considerably, his heavy panting developing into low growls. He could feel his heart rate increase drastically, the adrenaline pumping through his veins. His pupils had now contracted fully to their pinpoint size, making the eyes look all the more colder, all the more mindless.

"Leave... her..." he began to say between breaths, watching as Loki lifted his paw to give the first strike.

"ALONE," Sengalo finished, snarling before his sentence could even be finished. He felt a sudden burst of strength surge through him as he lunged forward. Where had this strength come from? He had nothing to gather it from. He cared not at this point. His only ideal now was to kill.

Fully extended, ebony claws dug into the flanks of Loki. With a mighty yank, Sengalo threw both himself and the other lion to the ground. Both tussled for a few moments, neither getting the upper hand. Sengalo fought vigorously, though he finally became pinned under Loki's weight. He roared directly into the other's face, kicking viciously at the white maned lion's stomach. Loki swatted him across the face, then whipped his head down for a bite. Sengalo tried to hold him back with his forepaws, but he felt fangs tear at his hooked nose. He felt the thin flesh between his nostrils and his upper lip shred as he ripped himself away from Loki before he could grab hold any more.

Sengalo reeled his head to his left, clamping down on the nearest thing he could find: Loki's paws. The lion howled as Sengalo put a death hold on the wrist. Loki quickly took himself off of Sengalo, tugging uselessly to release himself. Staggering to his feet with the other's paw still between his jaws, Sengalo, finally got his opponent to fall to the ground with a mighty thud. Loki cried out again. Sengalo yanked hard at the limb, causing Loki to slide onto his back. Again, another roar of searing pain came from the white maned one.

Finally, Sengalo released his death grip. Fresh blood, both his and Loki's, stained his maw as he glowered down at his fallen opponent. Loki only stared back up with wide, disbelieving eyes as he was now rendered just as helpless as Sengalo was moments before.

"Only the strongest survive," came the blackened words of the equally dark lion. With narrowed eyes, Sengalo turned away from Loki. The other lion dared not move, thoroughly winded as he lied his head into the sand. Was he going to die? Only if he lost the will to hang on to life.

Sengalo approached where Siera still lied. Each step unmasked this strong, merciless assassin to the weak, near-death lion from before. He halted to stand over Siera, panting heavily as a fresh river of blood trickled down from his left nostril. Pink tongue flicked once in and out of Sengalo's mouth to mend the wound that would more than likely leave another scar on the lion. Eyes robbed of their coldness stared wearily down at Siera, examining her tired form.

"Siera," Sengalo said softly, trying to change his harsh voice back to a more calming one, "Siera, get up. We're almost there. Please, get up." He lowered his head down to her, nudging the fair female's cheek with his bloodied maw. It left a small patch of crimson to stain her delicate beauty, but Sengalo paid no mind. Hopefully, Siera would hear him.

((Hope you don't mind how I played Loki, Loki. Don't worry, he's not dead, just kinda beat up. ._.))

As always when conflict arose, Phelesi lingered back. He remained silent as Tomai stood up to Kulova. He perked slightly as the overly spotted leopardess stared back at him, not expecting to even be regarded in the beginning of this spat.

Phelesi felt his muscles grow tight under his skin, watching with raised brows as Tomai went into a fighting stance. She wanted to start something? Now? With Kulova? It was fact that the grey leopardess was relatively powerful in the Empire. Tomai and himself were just lowly members in the hierarchy. Tomai may have been one of their most skilled hunters, but what would that prove to someone higher up?

No, no fighting. That was the last thing Phelesi wanted to see. He didn't want to see a friend knocked down by such a witch.

Dark colored ears quickly flicked back as Kulova smiled sinisterly in Phelesi's direction. His brow lowered slightly, the dull pelted male trying to make himself look a little bigger by lifting himself. It was a sad attempt at intimidation, but instinct told him to do so.

At the mention of treason, nervous eyes went between both females. All present knew the price to pay for going against H'Baura. This was only getting worse.

"Tomai..." Phelesi began cautiously as he still stared at Kulova, though no other words passed his black lips.

Kulova's last comment left Phelesi disturbed, to say the least. Narrowed green eyes stared at the dark leopardess, taking another step or two toward Tomai. He said nothing more. It was something he often did. He could be quite the talker, but throw in someone he was intimidated by and he shuts up real quick.

Kulova cocked an ear at Phelesi, giving him a toothy grin as well. She just couldn't help herself when it came to things like this, when one of the leap showed themselves as so obviously weak. Was Tomai so far gone that she actually required the male's assistance, or was she just so comfortable in her present role of leopardess in distress? Either way, she wasn't about to have an easy time of it.Tomai's retort gave her pause, and she almost sat back on her haunches in surprise. She was actually standing up to her? Who'd given her permission to grow a spine? It was intriguing and daunting at the same time. She hardly dared to believe it. Yet Tomai was even now getting into a fighting stance, genuinely riled by Kulova's words. This could be troublesome.Still, she couldn't allow herself to be cowed. Not entirely anyway. If she backed down now, she'd lose one of her sources of entertainment. So when she finally replied, it was with a smirk of confidence."Lie? The Queen would be very sad indeed to hear you speaking treason, blotchy-butt." She smiled as she used the nickname she'd slowly developed for the overly spotted leopardess. She thought it a very apt description of Tomai's coat, and it gave her a lot of satisfaction."Yes, you should ask that apparently dead leopard that you speak of. River stands just as sure on all fours as you do... Surer in fact, right Tomai?" She giggled once more at the play on the leopardess' own affliction: she certainly cut quite a figure when it came upon her badly. Hmm, maybe she'd better watch how many barbs she threw at her today, Tomai might actually be so foolish as to strike her while she had her riled."Oh yes, Tomai, you should strike me. I've been a very bad leopardess." she teased, mimicking Tomai's defensive stance, her rump considerably in the air, flagging her tail as if to taunt her with the sight of even that. "Be careful about how you strike me, though... I might like to be struck.. in the right place."

Tomai flinched. Her message had just found its home when...Kulova. That arrogant shadow. Had she graced Tomai's list? No more of that, no more. Who really was loyal? Who really was kind? Tomai sensed that it wasn't just her own limbs that were losing their stance. The Empire itself seemed to be shaking.

"H'Baura would lie, Kulova. Or she would t-tell the truth. If capable she still is. She killed. Prisoner. A stranger cat...a li-on, it was? And Ri-river. River. He's dead," Tomai's eyes found Phelesi. She dropped her head. Her grief showed in her body and her voice. "Deader."

Keeping her glare steady and letting just enough fang and claw show, Tomai sent a clear message to the cloudy leopardess. She was in no mood to be trifled with. No mood to be insulted. No mood. All the tensions, all her angers, fears, dreams, sorrows; first sparring with Asikari and now? At least there was one ally by her side. Phelesi. He doubted. Oh, doubt! Well, no more! If Kulova was going to start something...

The male's thick brows only furrowed deeper at the quaking that came from Tomai. Poor thing, she was having a nightmare and a pretty horrid one at that. Phelesi took a step closer, lowering his head to her level. He prepared to nudge her with a paw, but she awoke.

The dull pelted leopard quickly lifted his head back, stepping away to give Tomai space. He tilted his head slightly as he listened to the leopardess's babbling. It was a good thing that he had known her for such a long time. Any stranger to Tomai would find her... unique way of speaking pretty confusing.

"I was looking f--" he began as he bobbed his head in the direction he had come from, but cut himself off as he stared back down at Tomai and heard her knews. Lime green eyes grew wide as Phelesi blinked once, taken aback with her words.

"Murder," he repeated with an aghast tone, tail beginning to curl between his legs. He was about to question Tomai further, but heard another feminine voice. Phelesi whipped his head in Kulova's direction, ears splaying to the side as he pursed his sagging lips again.

"Knock it off, Kulova," the male found himself saying sternly, "she's pretty shaken up." Oh, did he just retaliate against a more brutish clan member? Yeah, bad idea on Phelesi's part.

It had been some time until Nala made it back to Pride Rock. She left Mheetu and Kianga behind a ways, giving them their alone time. She shook her cream coat lightly as she stepped up the stone slab that led into Pride Rock, relieving herself of the rain that fell into her pelt. It looked like she had assumed wrong when it was going to rain. Still, the shower didn't last too long. It looked like rays of gold were breaking through the nimbus clouds, bringing light to the Pridelands once more.

Aqua green eyes glanced about their monolith of a home. It looked like that intruder was still incapacitated and things were winding down, but an air of unrest still hung around the premises. Naturally, the first thing the Queen wished to do was seek out her King. It seemed that he was nowhere in sight, though.

However, there was a lioness heading to the alcove to join her pride sisters. "Alia," came Nala's voice, trotting a few steps after the lioness to get her attention.

Alia turned and blinked once. She was a seasoned member of the pride and had been one of the many that shared the same amount of seasons as her Queen. "Yes, Nala," asked the tawny coated female, turning to fully face the cream lioness.

"Is Simba still in the cave with the intruder," Nala questioned calmly, though her sparkling eyes were searching, "I've been looking for him."

Alia only smiled sweetly, regarding a quick glance to Runako's cave. "No, he left," she answered as she stared back to Nala, "right after the Prince."

"Thank you, Alia," Nala replied with her own smile. She nodded once to the lioness and left her to her own business. There was only one other place at this point that Nala could think of to find her mate. With her sleek movements, delicate appearing paws stepped around the side of Pride Rock less traveled by its inhabitants.

Sure enough, she found who she was looking for as she rounded the corner. Pausing, Nala took a moment to look over her red haired husband. By now, she could pretty much tell his feelings from his body language. He looked pensive, though troubled.

The Queen's thin brows furrowed slightly and with one step after the other, she slowly approached him. "A little early to seek counsel from the Great Kings, isn't it," she said as she came up to his side, sitting herself down. She didn't stare at him just yet, only letting her half lidded gaze stare out into the savannah. "Not even Mohatu's star can be seen yet," she added with her smooth voice, aquamarine eyes rolling up to stare at her King.

Seeing him turn his face a bit, she took the hint and took a step back, giving him the respect since he was the dominant gender. "I'm neither trespassing or her lackey. Just a leopardess who has found her birth place." Moon simply told him. Her rear found the soft ground and her tail curled around her paws.

A smile reached her lips as she heard his comment. "Ah, so then I now know who to follow if there is a war between Empress and Warrior." She told him glancing around the small clearing. Her grape eyes found their way back to his. She waited for his response.

Asikari’s brow furrowed at the female’s purr. As she circled him he followed her every footfall with a calm but warning gaze until she finally stopped before him. The closeness of their noses bothered him so Asikari turned his head away and gazed at her with askance from the corner of his eye.

The side of Asikari’s mouth curled up with a near grin as the dark leopardess complimented him but he quickly forced it away as he realized who he was talking to.

“I’ve never seen you before,” he challenged coolly, his shoulder still facing her, “Are you trespassing? Or has H’Baura found another lackey?”

He turned his back to her and moved several paces away, though he had no intention of leaving. He looked back over his shoulder but made no further movements. Lowering his tone he said, “You should know: The real power lies in the hands of Ayele and his guards.”

Well, this was certainly turning out to be one of the more... unique days.Kulova had paused just inside the temple shadows, frozen by the tone in Ayele's voice as he'd spoken to H'Baura. She'd missed what they had been talking about, but from the sound of it, he wasn't too happy with her right now. This could definitely have some potential.Cautiously, she let more of her body bleed out into the light, not quite skulking into plain view, but not rushing, either. The last thing she needed was to be on the receiving end of H'Baura's wrath.So intent was she on escaping the queen's notice, that she almost stumbled over Phelesi and Tomai, arriving in time to hear the female's dire message. For a full minute she paused, unable to do anything as her mind tried to wrap itself around what she'd just heard. Oh this was just too good to pass up!

"And is this merely another one of your bad dreams, then, Tomai?" she purred, her eyes reflecting the disbelief in her voice, her tail twitching back and forth. "Not like the one about the headless gazelles a while back, hmm? What's next, carnivorous zebras?"She laughed then, pleased with her cleverness."What if I were to ask our queen if she'd killed anyone recently, hm? What do you think she'd say? Do you think she'd be pleased if she knew that you were spreading untruths?"She waited for Tomai's answer, still giggling quietly to herself.

Ayele glared back with equal anger, if not more so. His own fangs were bared, his rows upon rows of jagged, sharped daggers glistening in reflections from the temple and sun. His eyes swirled from their calm golden color to an infuriated, maddened deep brown, heart thudding in his chest as his blood pressure rose.

He could kill her. He could kill her right now. It'd be so easy.

But Ayele was not stupid. Not was not the time. Her petty guards did not worry him in the least - it was the timing that was off. If he suddenly attacked her now, he would be kicked out of the Empire, if not killed himself later by a much larger mass of leopards. Despite the local hatred for H'Baura, she was still their queen, and they would still defend her.

At the moment, anyway...

Live today to fight another day.

He growled lowly, ears pressed down flat against his skull, mentally planning out how to react. Should he console her? No... Offer to... amend things? This he considered, then shook the thought away. No, he would not stoop so low. He would not kiss H'Baura's queenly ass. His vengence would come soon enough, he was sure. So he decided to keep it short and simple.

"While I am sorry that I disobeyed you, my queen..." he drawled lowly, yet plenty loud for her to hear, "I will not forget your words. Good-day to you."

With that, he swiftly rounded about and padded down the temple steps. He was still furious, yet calm, knowing that H'Baura would one day have a heavy price to pay. A heavy price indeed.